John Lennon's Jukebox [Import]

Disc: 1
1. In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
2. Rescue Me - Fontella Bass
3. Tracks of My Tears - The Miracles, Smokey Robinson
4. My Girl - Otis Redding
5. 1, 2, 3 - Len Barry
6. Hi Heel Sneakers - Tommy Tucker
7. Walk - Jimmy McCracklin
8. Gonna Send You Back to Georgia - Timmy Shaw
9. First I Look at the Purse - The Contours
10. New Orleans - Gary "U.S." Bonds,
See all 20 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent
2. No Particular Place to Go - Chuck Berry
3. Steppin' Out - Paul Revere
4. Do You Believe in Magic - The Lovin' Spoonful
5. Some Other Guy - The Big Three
6. Twist and Shout - The Isley Brothers
7. She Said "Yeah" - Larry Williams
8. Brown Eyed Handsome Man - Buddy Holly
9. Slippin' and Slidin' - Richard Wayne Penniman
10. Quarter to Three - Gary "U.S." Bonds,
See all 21 tracks on this disc

John Lennon's Jukebox,Various Artists,EMI Int'l,Frat Rock,Motown,Pop,Pop-Soul,Pop/Rock,R&B,Rock,Rock & Roll,Rock/Pop Collections,Soul,V/A Compilations

John Lennon's Jukebox [Import]

Average customer rating:

Lennon under the influence!
Actually, a semi-review and a question
The songs that influenced John Lennon
Intriguing and Eclectic Mix
Somewhat fudged but still commendable

John Lennon's Jukebox
Various Artists
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

Motown | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Pop | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

At the Club
Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session
Living in the Material World (CD+DVD)
Ringo Starr and Friends
Walls and Bridges

ASIN: B0001IW61C
Release Date: 2004-03-15

Tracks:

In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
Rescue Me - Fontella Bass
Tracks of My Tears - The Miracles, Smokey Robinson
My Girl - Otis Redding
1, 2, 3 - Len Barry
Hi Heel Sneakers - Tommy Tucker
Walk - Jimmy McCracklin
Gonna Send You Back to Georgia - Timmy Shaw
First I Look at the Purse - The Contours
New Orleans - Gary "U.S." Bonds,
Watch Your Step - Bobby Parker
Daddy Rollin' Stone - Derek Martin
Short Fat Fannie - Larry Williams
Long Tall Sally - Little Richard
Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
Hey! Baby - Bruce Channel
Positively 4th Street - Bob Dylan
Daydream - The Lovin' Spoonful
Turquoise - Donovan
Slippin' and Slidin' - Buddy Holly

Tracks:

Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent
No Particular Place to Go - Chuck Berry
Steppin' Out - Raiders, Paul Revere
Do You Believe in Magic - The Lovin' Spoonful
Some Other Guy - The Big Three
Twist and Shout - The Isley Brothers
She Said "Yeah" - Larry Williams
Brown Eyed Handsome Man - Buddy Holly
Slippin' and Slidin' - Richard Wayne Penniman
Quarter to Three - Gary "U.S." Bonds,
Ooh My Soul - Little Richard
Woman Love - Gene Vincent
Shop Around - The Miracles
Bring It on Home to Me - The Animals
If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody - James Ray
What's So Good About Goodbye - The Miracles
Bad Boy - Larry Williams
Agent Double O Soul - Edwin Starr
I've Been Good to You - The Miracles
Oh I Apologize - Barrett Strong
Who's Lovin' You - The Miracles

Customer Reviews:

Lennon under the influence!.......2005-12-19

I bought this cd for my Mom, but once I gave it a listen it was clear that I had to have it also! Having been brought up with the Beatles playing around me in my most formitable years I got to know the songs at a fairly young age & have always appretiated their music. They helped me to form the musical tastes that I have now. I'd have to say more of a thanks to my Mom for playing them being that they were over by the time I was old enough to enjoy them. That said I'd like to say that I caught a special on PBS that highlighted the songs found on a long lost jukebox of John Lennons & was very interested in his choice of records that filled it. You can definately hear the direct influence they had on some of the Beatles songs later on. I'm hoping they release the dvd of the PBS show as it would make a great companion to the set. This collection is a good one filled with some of rock & roll's greatest stars & songs of the time. I'm sure you'll be familiar with most of them & if not you will be soon after listening a few times. This is a great gift for not only fan's of John & the Beatles but of good music in general. If it doesn't have you tapping your foot, spilling your beer & singing along then you just don't know what rock & roll is all about!

Actually, a semi-review and a question.......2004-12-29

I saw the show Lennon Jukebox and was just enthralled by all the great, often obscure music that got showcased. Really great stuff. However, I had a question for anybody out there. The reviewer Ed Woods (see below) mentions that the sleeve notes were pretty spare, because of an upcoming book. Does anybody know about this? I've done some extensive Internet searching but couldn't find anything. I'm wondering because I don't know whether to buy this disc now or wait until the book is released, since the possibility exists that the cds could be packaged with the book. Thanks.

The songs that influenced John Lennon.......2004-11-08

I haven't got this album (yet) but just finished watching the fascinating TV documentary of the same name. You couldn't get a better collection of writers, singers and musicians. You can clearly hear how these tracks influenced some of the best Beatles songs. A "desert island disc" if ever I heard one.

Intriguing and Eclectic Mix.......2004-11-07

Just a quick word to those who dispute the authenticity of the tracks on this CD: the label says music "inspired" by John Lennon's jukebox, they're not ALL necessarily tracks that he owned.

Having said that, this is really a nifty little collection of 60s R&B and rock 'n' roll. It's a great starting point for anyone who wants to know more about performers such as Wilson Pickett, Gene Vincent, and The Big Three. However, the CD sometimes jumps strangely from fun, raucous tracks to sad, teenage-angst ones (eg. Rescue Me is followed incomprehensibly by The Tracks of My Tears). But all in all, it's definitely worth 4 stars and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to widen their musical horizons.

P.S.- A lot of the tracks on this album were later covered by The Beatles (either on an album or during the Live at the BBC recordings) and I find it both interesting and a little humorous to compare the two versions.

Somewhat fudged but still commendable.......2004-09-29

When John Lennon fled the marital nest in 1968 to fulfill his destiny with Yoko Ono, he left behind many of his possessions. One of these was his Swiss KB Discomatic portable jukebox, lovingly stocked over time by Lennon since he bought it in 1965 with 40 of his all-time favourite singles. It went into storage at his old home of Kenwood in Weybridge and was was subsequently bought in 1989 for just £2,500 by the late Bristol music promoter John Midwinter at Christie's Beatles memorabilia sale, and painstakingly restored. Its recent rediscovery inspired this double CD of its contents, which ranged from Gene Vincent and Little Richard in 1956, through lots of US rock and roll and rhythm and blues, including 3 of Larry Williams' Specialty recordings and 5 by the Miracles, up to the Lovin' Spoonful, whose Daydream, the sole item from 1966, is the most recent selection.
As the final Beatles concert took place in August 1966 and he was no longer on the road, he had probably then found it unnecessary to re-stock the jukebox, hence the lack of other selections from 1966 to 1968, in contrast to a dozen from 1965, including Dylan's magnificent non-album single Positively Fourth Street.
It is a predominantly male collection, with only one female singer represented, namely Fontella Bass, whose splendid Rescue Me is on the first disc; and, surprisingly, as far as we can tell, no girl groups, despite the Beatles having covered the Cookies, the Shirelles, the Marvelettes and others in the first half of their career.
There are 41 jukebox selections, drawn from 35 singles (6 are B-sides). There is very little extra information on the disc, one side of the four-page booklet being devoted entirely to the perils of making illegal copies, so we aren't told what the other five singles were, although after some detective work I have found they included Booker T and the MGs' Boot-leg/Outrage (1965); Arthur Alexander's You Better Move On/A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues (1961); Richie Barrett's original Some Other Guy/Tricky Dicky (1962); and another Miracles single, Ain't It Baby/The Only One I Love (1961), where he seems to have favoured the flipside. He seems to have chosen singles with particularly strong B-sides, to derive maximum benefit from the limit of 40 records, and either side of any of the above would have been welcome inclusions.
The presence of 6 B-sides reminds us that the selection has been drawn from a possible 80, not 40 titles. Whilst a concentration on topsides is undoubtedly the correct path on the part of the compilers it is worth remarking that other notable B-sides qualifying for inclusion include Fontella Bass' magnificent The Soul Of The Man, Otis Redding's take on Down In The Valley, Tommy Tucker's I Don't Want 'Cha, Jimmy McCracklin's I'm To Blame, Larry Williams' High School Dance, Bob Dylan's From A Buick 6, The Lovin' Spoonful's instrumental Night Owl Blues plus On The Road Again, The Animals' glorious For Miss Caulker and Donovan's defining Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness).
There is mention of the "fascinating tracklist" in "Lennon's own handwriting", but this is not included in the minimal artwork except in token extracts.
A CD collection inspired by music from a jukebox raises a number of questions regarding authenticity. Presumably we don't object to the absence of the snap, pop, crackle and hiss of the original vinyl. All the singles would have played in mono, too, but 14 of the tracks here are in luxurious stereo mixes. Should this be the case? In my view, yes, since it presents the recordings in their best light sonically. Should they be the same recordings of the songs that were on the jukebox? Indubitably, yes, they must be.
Unfortunately, there is a discrepancy between the liner information, which describe correctly the tracks that ought to be on the CD, and the tracks that actually are included, in at least three cases:
Slippin' And Slidin' by Buddy Holly is not the version to be found on the UK B-side found on Lennon's jukebox, which had backing posthumously overdubbed by the Fireballs, but is actually the unadorned New York apartment demo that was unreleased at the time and has never been on a single.
Some Other Guy is not the Big Three's Decca A-side from 1963 which John so admired and copied for the Beatles' Easy Beat session that same year. It is a much later stereo recording with a different line-up and a totally inferior arrangement, and entirely misrepresents his choice. It probably comes from the 1973 re-union album Resurrection. Particularly unfortunately, this is the only British selection apart from the Animals' Bring It On Home To Me and Donovan's Turquoise (in turn, the only British song).
The Miracles' I've Been Good To You is not the 1961 A-side, but comes from their 1963 live album The Miracles On Stage. It was never on a single and could not have been on his jukebox.
Additionally, if we are nit-picking, Little Richard's Ooh! My Soul from 1958 is longer than the version on the British single at least, to be found on Ace's The Original British Hit Singles. This would have been the version that Lennon probably had, as the BBC Beatles version of the song, aired on Pop Go The Beatles in 1963, was even shorter.
These serious slips impair an otherwise illustrative and entertaining collection that show Lennon's exemplary musical influences and inspirations, especially as the compilers clearly know what they should be and have made out that they are what they are not. If tracks could not be licensed, could they not have made some alternative selections rather than substituting incorrect versions? It's well worth having, but ultimately, a unique opportunity has been somewhat fudged. If the label are worried about illegal copies, perhaps they should be more concerned about the door left open for bootleggers to do a better job. However, despite these shortcomings we are still left with 38 excellent and influential selections from John Lennon's jukebox, which by association become a special part of our recent cultural history

Rap Music:

Rap Music

rap music

Recommended Music:

La Vida Latino

Schumann: Piano and Chamber Music

Shadowhead

Music: Longview

Quixotic [Extra tracks] [Limited Edition] [Import]

Step into the A.M.

Louisiana Hayride Gospel, Vol. 2: Classic Gospel Radio

Pardon Me

Perfil [Import]

Rare Recordings [Box set] [Import]

Sapphire Dreams: A Romantic Interlude